Director Chris Renaud and writers Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio (the team responsible for 2010's Despicable Me) were just the right people to bring Dr. Seuss' (aka Theodor Geisel) 1971 environmental fable to vivid, eye-popping life. It has a similar blend of humor, bouncy silliness and sweetness.

And it remains faithful to the spirit of Seuss. The pro-conservation, anti-consumerist message of the book is heartily intact. And, like the Seuss story, the film never resorts to sermonizing.

• STORY: 'The Lorax' protects Dr. Seuss' animated environment

• MORE: 'Lorax' voice cast speaks for the trees in their lives

The actors who lend their voices to the characters are an inspired choice, particularly Danny DeVito as the Lorax and Rob Riggle as archvillain Mr. O'Hare. The latter is a diminutive, helmet-haired dictator who controls the town of Thneedville by polluting it with his factories and then collecting huge sums selling fresh air to its citizenry. His motto: "The more smog in the sky, the more people will buy.''

Disappointingly, Seuss' trademark lilting language and clever rhymes are only sporadically integrated into the story. The film does add pleasantly loopy, if rather forgettable, songs.

Twelve-year-old Ted (Zac Efron) lives in the town, which has been given a colorful, stylized, plastic look that brings to mind Disneyland's Toontown. Ted has a crush on the artistic Audrey (Taylor Swift), who paints murals filled with forest scenes. Her greatest wish is to see a real tree, because their town is filled with only the artificial arboreal variety, such as Oak-a-matics.

To find an actual tree, Ted's Grammy Norma (Betty White) nudges him in the direction of the Once-ler (Ed Helms) and, ultimately, the Lorax, the savvy, wisecracking orange character who seeks to protect the natural world.

Ted bravely ventures beyond Thneedville, and his circuitous trip brings the 3-D elements of the film into exciting play.

The Once-ler lives in remote isolation and spins a yarn of a paradise rich in colorful flora and adorable fauna, rushing streams and groves of furry lollipop-style Truffula trees. In his youth, eager to make something of himself, the Once-ler transformed the Truffula trees' tufted fluff into scarves called "Thneeds" that became a fad. With abandon, he chopped down all the trees to fashion his products, ignoring the appeals and warnings of the Lorax. Soon all that was left was a barren wasteland.

This tale's ecological message, like that of the book, is aimed directly at young audiences. And the writers wisely incorporate Seuss' essential plea: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not."

Anyone older than 10 can discern that herein lies a parable of green vs. greed. All ages are likely to find the cautionary tale entertaining as well as illuminating. Some might even find it galvanizing.